Product description

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky. In the first two books alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, a lumpy bed, a deadly serpent, a large brass reading lamp, a long knife, and a terrible odour. In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Never before has a tale of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or quite so uproariously unhappy. Ages 10+

Customer reviews

As the Baudelaire children--Violet, Klaus, and Sunny--narrowly escape the marriage scheme of Count Olaf and his theatre troupe of THE BAG BEGINNING, we pick up with Mr. Poe once again leading the children to the home of another relative. Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, a revered member of the Herpetological Society, is a man who has spent his life studying snakes. As the children arrive at his home, via Lousy Lane, they are at first leary of "Uncle Monty" and his REPTILE ROOM. They soon learn, however, that their newfound Uncle is a kind man, providing them each with their own room and entertaining activities that they each enjoy--space and materials to invent for Violet, books and a reading nook for Klaus, and plenty of biting material for Sunny.

As the orphans settle in to their new abode, Uncle Monty teaches them about snakes, most especially his new discovery, the Incredibly Deadly Viper. As we learn that said snake is a misnomer--the word "misnomer" here meaning "a wrong name"--the children become excited about the upcoming trip to Peru to study new snake life. Unfortunately, as most everything in the lives of the Baudelaire children is, Uncle Monty's new assistant, Stefano, is no other than Count Olaf in disguise.

Alas, just as with their previous adventures, no one listens to the children's concerns until it is too late. As Stefano aka Count Olaf threatens the children into silence, he begins to hatch his evil plan, which includes getting rid of the snake-loving doctor and absconding to Peru with the children, where he can wait for Violet to come of age, grab her fortune, and dispose of the children.

Saved in the nick of time--yet again--by a convoluted series of events, we find the children once again looking for a kind relative to care for them. As THE REPTILE ROOM ends, Mr. Poe drives off into the sunset with a miserable Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, and we wait to see which new series of unfortunate events will befall the children.

Another quick read, THE REPTILE ROOM is highly recommended depending on the maturity of your child. Another dark tale of misery and woe, this book is highly entertaining for those who understand that it's fiction.